Chapter 6: Who Is the Substitute?

"Directionally challenged, absolutely directionally challenged!"

From the starlit night to the pale dawn, Ling Xuan paced the back mountain in circles. Not only had he failed to escape the gaze of the hawk, but he kept finding himself back in the same spots. He muttered a silent curse.

Before leaving, Old Master Chu—the imperial physician—had instructed Ye Ziyan that once Uncle Gou, the "Dog-Nose," came seeking help, they were to enter the back mountain and remain there for three days.

Ling Xuan couldn't run off on his own even if he wanted to. Although he had awakened the Great Shikigami, the "Spirit Snake Entwining the Moon," possessing a Great Shikigami didn't automatically make him powerful. The crimson giant snake was currently nothing more than a faint glimmer of starlight. Facing Ye Ziyan, he still felt like a small rabbit encountering a tigress; between the Pulse-Opening Realm and the Great Heavenly Cycle, there was still the gap of a Small Heavenly Cycle—a significant distance away.

As the purple sun leaped over the horizon, the sound of hooves echoed at the village entrance at the foot of the mountain.

"The Demon-Hunting Battalion is here," Ye Ziyan said, her face full of urgency. "Ling Xuan, think of something!"

Think of something? What could he possibly think of?

Having transmigrated here, he was completely unfamiliar with this place. Otherwise, he never would have let a pathologically directionally challenged person like Ye Ziyan lead the way. Ling Xuan shook his head inwardly. "Even the strongest woman has her weak points."

He looked up at the sky. The hawk was still circling, emitting piercing cries from time to time, as if signaling their exact location.

"Shoot it down," Ling Xuan suggested.

"Do you have any idea how far away it is?" Ye Ziyan replied with annoyance. "A silver bow's range is five hundred paces, but that hawk is at least a thousand paces up."

"Lure it down, then." Ling Xuan's eyes darted as he looked at the small white snake coiled around his wrist. "Little guy, help me out!"

"Hiss, hiss..."

The little white snake acted as if it had just woken up. Seeming to understand, it shook its triangular head in protest.

"Then lead the way for me," Ling Xuan immediately switched to a smiling face.

The little white snake shared the same lineage as the great white snake. Since it could transmit those memory fragments to him, it should possess the great white snake's memories of the back mountain and know of some hiding spots.

"You want *it* to lead the way?" Ye Ziyan wanted to laugh. "Have you gone mad?"

But the little white snake seemed to understand; it nodded its small head, its body winding and pointing toward the foot of the mountain.

"Wrong direction. We can't go that way," Ling Xuan said, a smirk tugging at his lips. "We need to go the opposite way."

Accustomed to human nature, the little white snake quickly reversed direction, nodded its tiny triangular head three times, and its body undulated.

"Does it really understand?" Ye Ziyan was filled with disbelief. She reached out to touch it, but the little white snake dodged, as if holding a grudge, refusing to let her make contact.

Chewing on a blade of dogtail grass, Ling Xuan jumped up. "Follow me."

His eyes were locked on the little white snake’s head, and from the corner of his eye, he caught the sight of its winding body. The twisting, coiling motion was remarkably similar to the circulation patterns of the Taiji Infinite Yin and Yang energy he had first observed.

The Spirit Snake Entwining the Moon on his chest radiated a faint warmth. Mimicking the snake's posture, he moved the energy through his meridians. He felt his body undergo a subtle change, transitioning from initial awkwardness to increasing fluidity.

Inside his body, it felt as though two Yin and Yang snakes were coiling and stretching like babbling brooks; wherever they passed, his pores opened slightly.

His breathing adjusted to the rhythm of the little white snake’s tongue. His pores seemed to breathe on their own, drawing in wisps of essence into his body, while the various acupuncture points in his feet pulsed in synchronization.

Black-red energy swirled from the Bubbling Spring points on the soles of his feet like a snake’s tail sweeping the ground. His speed increased dramatically, his movements shifting from short side-steps to long, leaping strides.

***

Scenes of his grandfather teaching him acupuncture flashed before his eyes—the trajectory of the silver needles overlapped with the snake-shaped acupuncture points. Ling Xuan grew even more curious. "So, the Taiji Infinite has this use as well?"

"Hey, what kind of movement technique is this?" Ye Ziyan asked with suspicion. "I've never seen it before. The steps seem chaotic, yet they hide a pattern. Trying to follow you, I can't even tell which way you're going!"

A movement technique? Was this really a movement technique?

The Bearded Guest had told him to observe the little white snake carefully, noting that because he hadn't practiced any specific martial arts, his mind was clear and he could draw parallels to gain sudden enlightenment. Ling Xuan smiled faintly. "The Spirit Snake technique of the Taiji Needle Arts."

"Wriggling around like a snake—you think that looks good?" Ye Ziyan looked at him with disdain.

Ling Xuan ignored her. He used the travel time to comprehend the movement technique, wondering if there might be martial arts moves hidden within it as well.

His Shikigami was the Spirit Snake Entwining the Moon. The Bearded Guest had told him to pay attention to the little white snake under the moonlight, but now, with the sun rising, it seemed different from what the Bearded Guest had described.

His thoughts drifted. Could it have something to do with his Taiji Infinite?

He stared intensely at the little white snake's writhing, feeling the flow of energy within his body and the pulsing of his acupuncture points. There were only forty-nine points. If he connected them, it was like a winding little snake, intricately linked to the Governing Vessel.

*Could it be that there is another circulation route under the moonlight, connected to the Conception Vessel, that makes it complete?* Ling Xuan pondered.

Ye Ziyan urged him, "Hurry, don't let them catch up."

"Why did Grandfather go to the Demon-Suppressing Abyss?" Ling Xuan asked.

Ye Ziyan looked sad. "Summoned by the Prince; life and death are uncertain."

"Life and death uncertain for Grandfather?" Ling Xuan almost stumbled, his head buzzing. "Wh-which Prince summoned Grandfather?"

"I don't know," Ye Ziyan shook her head. "But after Grandfather saw the letter, he immediately arranged our marriage. He was worried he wouldn't return, so he told me to keep an eye on you."

Worried he wouldn't return? Had Old Master Chu's identity as an imperial physician of the former Chen Dynasty been discovered?

There were many princes in the Great Sui Dynasty; some had participated in the destruction of the Chen, while others had surrendered from it. Why summon Old Master Chu now? Why make such a rushed marriage arrangement?

*Keep an eye on me?*

Chewing on the meaning, Ling Xuan muttered to himself, "When did Grandfather tell you to keep an eye on me?"

Ye Ziyan didn't overthink it. "Ever since you were fished out of the little river."

*After he performed acupuncture, did he realize I wasn't the real Chu Lingxuan and tell Ye Ziyan to watch me?*

Before leaving, Old Master Chu hadn't shown any surprise, instead urging him to study acupuncture diligently. Ling Xuan suddenly stopped in his tracks, his mind roaring. *Am I really just a scapegoat? And he wants me to walk right into the Imperial Medical Bureau?*

He looked at the two nearly identical copper coins—one dropped by Uncle Gou, the other obtained from his parents' portrait. Ling Xuan still couldn't understand what it all meant.

"Hiss, hiss..."

The sound was sharp. The Spirit Snake Entwining the Moon on his chest emitted a chill, and the little white snake suddenly coiled its body, looking around with vigilance.

Ling Xuan snapped back to reality. Now was not the time to ponder these things. Sui soldiers were waiting to catch him at the foot of the mountain; if he wanted answers, he had to survive first.

Faintly, footsteps could be heard on the mountain path.

***

The mountain wind carried their voices clearly.

With a rustle, three figures crawled upward. A hoarse voice drifted over. "Dog-Nose, are you sure that wasn't the brat from the Chu family?"

"You saw it with your own eyes—the kid was fed to the great white snake," a familiar voice replied. It was Uncle Gou. "I don't get it. Those bastards from the Demon-Hunting Battalion are hunting the great white snake, yet they insist on making us lead the charge."

"Then why did you fake the demon soul possession?"

"If I didn't get close, how could I be sure it wasn't a fake brat?" Uncle Gou chuckled. "When Old Master Chu left, he showed no signs of anything; he didn't notice a thing."

"Dog-Nose is Dog-Nose, you can even smell the subtle differences in scent," another voice laughed. "You made me think the great white snake actually spat the kid back out."

The hoarse voice asked, "How many more times can you use that dog nose of yours today?"

"I haven't even used it once yet," Uncle Gou laughed. "As long as the fake brat is still in the back mountain, I'll definitely find him and send him into the belly of the great white snake."

"That captain from the Yuwen family eats bones without spitting out the scraps," the hoarse voice remarked. "Hurry, don't miss the chance."

"Whatever Old Master Chu hid in the back mountain," Uncle Gou shook his head, "his own grandson doesn't know, and the fake one definitely won't know either. But Ye Ziyan must know, otherwise she wouldn't have run to the back mountain."

The hoarse voice laughed, "Hurry, we only have one day, or they'll be coming up the mountain."

Uncle Gou’s nose twitched, a smirk curling his lips. "We'll wipe out both the real and fake brats, destroy the daughter-in-law, cut off the Chu family line, and get the treasure Old Master Chu hid. He'll surely thank us for it."

Ling Xuan felt a chill run down his spine. Dog-Nose really had a conspiracy; he had used demon soul possession to test him, and it seemed the real Chu Lingxuan had actually been fed to the snake by them.

Ye Ziyan’s body trembled. "You aren't Chu Lingxuan? Then why does your blood taste the same?"

*Blood?*

Ling Xuan turned back abruptly. "You stabbed my chest and drank my heart's blood just to verify my identity?"

Bloodshot eyes appeared in her gaze. Ye Ziyan sneered, "You think I wanted to drink it? But Grandfather said... only your blood would allow me to live to see my mother again!"

*Is she also a child without parents?*

He felt a sense of shared pain, but Ling Xuan didn't understand: how could his blood be the same as Chu Lingxuan's?

He quickly asked, "Have you drunk Chu Lingxuan's blood?"

"Grandfather gave me a drop every month," Ye Ziyan explained. "Only the blood of a male born in the same year with extreme Yang energy could resolve the cold poison in my body."

*Resolving poison? Ye Ziyan has poison in her body?*

Born in the same year—that meant Ye Ziyan was the same age as him. Ling Xuan’s lips trembled. "How many years have you been drinking this blood?"

Her jade hand gripped his collar, a murderous glint flashing in her eyes. Ye Ziyan sneered, "If not to see my mother, do you think I'd want to drink it for twenty-one years?"

*Twenty-one years? And Grandfather was the one providing it to Ye Ziyan? It wasn't obtained directly from Chu Lingxuan?*

He remembered how his grandfather would often go on long trips after drawing his blood, returning looking exhausted. Ling Xuan stood there, stunned. *Could it be that Chu Lingxuan was the one who was my double?*